Nut-tapping machine.



G. ALEXANDER.

NUT TAPPING MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1913.

1,094,383. Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

6 SHEETS-$11231 1.

' I'r ver nur.

G. ALEXANDER.

NUT TAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1913.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

6 SHEETSSHEET 2.

G. ALEXANDER. NUT TAPPING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1913.

1,094,383, Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Wi'Ll'l E 5 5 E 5 I'qveq tor.

G. ALEXANDER.

NUT TAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1913.

1,094,383 Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

M E 0 2t I a llllu l lll je /lmTlll Inventor. l v

G. ALEXANDER.

NUT TAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.12, 1913.

1,094,383. Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

G. ALEXANDER. NUT TAPPING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT, 12, 1913.

1,094,383, Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

ver tnr.

GEORGE ALEXANDER,

OEERIE, PENNSYLVANIAa ASSIGNOB OF ONE-HALF TO PHILIP W. DIETL'Y, OFERIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

- NUT-TAPPING MAGHINE.

Application filed September 12, 1913. Serial No. 789,481.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE ALEXANDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Erie, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Nut-Tapping Machines;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescrlption of the invention,-sueh as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawin s, and to the letters of reference marked tereon,

' forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to nut-threadin machines, in which the nuts to bethreade I the rotary mechanism upward to receive anew blank when thesame drops to the cutting threads on the tap; and to construct suitableoperating mechanism for the several active elements of the machine sotimed that the action of each element will be in proper relativesequence to the other elements.

Another object of my'invention is to so construct and combine theseveral coiiperative mechanisms of the machine that their liability todisarrangement will bereduced to a minimum and yet may be readilyadjusted when desired.

The features of my invention are hereinafter fully set forth, and areillustrated in the several drawings in which Figure 1, is a front viewin elevation of a nut-threading machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2,is an endwise view in elevation, of the same. Fig. 3, is a rear sideview in elevatiomcf the same. 'Fig. 4:, is a top or plan view of thesame, with portions of the frame broken away. Fig. 5, is an enlargedfront view of a fragment of the same, partially in elevation andpartially in vert1- cal central section. Fig. 6, is an enlarged view intransverse, vertical, central section, of a portion of the same. Fig. 7,is a sectional view of a fragment of the hopper and conveyer belt of thesame. Fig. '8, is a rear view in elevation of a fragment of the same'with portions broken away.

In these drawings A, indicates the base frame of the machine, in theintermediate portion of which there is a chamber A, for reception of oilor other lubricants used on thread-cutting tools. Within this base frameA, there are ledges 11, provided, upon Specification of Letters Patent.P t t d 21, 1914,

which I place a receptacle-A having a screen bottom a, which receptacleis adapted to receive the finished nuts and cuttings from thethreading-tap, and permit oil or other lubricant to pass through thescreen a, into the chamber A. Upon the base frameA, I place a gear caseB. Within this gear case B, I mount a vertical hollow shaft C, in abearing B, and upon this hollow shaft C, I secure a miter or bevelgear-wheel C, :by means of pins 0, or other suitable means, to preventthe gear-wheel from rotating upon the shaft. The hollow shaft G, extendsupwardly through an opening I), in the u per wall I), of the gear caseB, where the siaf-t. is provided with a shoulder 0, which supports theshaft C, vertically. The hollow vertical shaft C, is provided, near itsupper end, with vertical slots 0 Around the exterior of the upper end ofthe vertical shaftC, I place a ring C having a peripheral groove or slot0 in which groove or slot I place a ring D, sothat the said ring D, mayrotate easily in said groove 0 Upon the gear case B, I secure an uprightguide-post E, and upon this post E, I place a sleeve E, which has arms Ethereon, which extend around and span the ring D, and are pivotedthereto by means of the bolts E so that the rings C and D, arevertically supported by the sleeve E, and arms E Within the upperportion of the vertical shaft C, I place a sleeve F, which is providedwith a longitudinal opening F, of any desired shape; square, hexagonal,or octagonal. The sleeve F, is also provided with radial openings f,adapted to receive trun- Upon the trunnion pins f, Within the slots G Ipreferably place rollers F. In Fig. 5,

I show the pins f, as being provided with screw-threads. This enablesthe operator to easily remove said pins when it is desired to remove thesleeve F. The sleeve F, is provided with longitudinal slots F onopposite sides thereof, in which slots I placesprings G, the upper ends9, of which are turned inward, and a shoulder g, is provided to beengaged by the shaft O, and force said springs inward so that theirinternal ends g, will extend into the opening F, in the sleeve F, asshown by full lines in Fig. 6,

and when said sleeve F, is raised upwardly,-

will permit said internal ends g, from being withdrawn from said openingF, as shown by broken lines in said figure.

Upon the gear case B, I place an upright frame H, and upon this frame H,I place jaw-carrying slides H, which are properly mounted in'slide-waysH in the face of the upright frame H, and are secured thereon by platesH and bolts H. The slides H, are slotted out as shown at h, to receivethe tap-jaws 7b, which are secured in the slots h by means of bolts M,which pass through elongated openings h in said jaws h. I alsopreferably provide adjusting screws J, which are tapped into the ends ofthe jaws 7L, and contact with the rear end walls of the slots It, sothat said ,jawsk, may, by means of said screws, be longitudinallyadjusted with relation to the slides H. The

' front ends of the jaws 72., are notched vertically to receive thecorners of squared spaces K, on the shank of the thread-cutting tap, andsaid jaws being so positioned as to hold the tap K, concentricallywithin the sleeve F. Upon the upright frame H, I place a bar L, havingan opening L, therethrough concentric with the tap K, and sleeve F, andon the underside of this bar L, I'secure a nut-supporting plate M,having an opening M, therethrough concentric with said tap K. To theunderside of the plate M, there are hinged trap-doors M which extendinward toward each other and partially close the opening M, in theplateM, and are provided with weighted arms M of sufficient gravity tosupport a nutblank thereon. Upon the bar L, I secure upright guide-postsN, upon which there is a slide N, carrying feeding fingers N adapted topass downward between the trapdoors M and span the shank ofthe threadingtap heldin position by a pair of jaws h.

For supplying nut-blanks to the plate M, I provide a hopper O, securedupon a bracket 0, extending from the rear side of the gear case B. Thishopper is provided with slide-ways O in which there-is placed 'avertically movable slide O the upper end of which is provided with a lip0, and an inclined surface 0, extending downwardly therefrom. On theside of the hopper O,

. adjacent to the slide O I place a bracket P,

over the belt Q, toward the hopper O, at a suflicient distance above thebelt Q, so that nut-blanks which my deposited thereon in a vertical,edgewise position, or one on top of another, will'be turned down into aflat-Wise position or brushed off of the belt Q, into the hopper O.

For operating the jaw-carrying slides H, I mount vertical shafts R R, inthe upper wall 6, of the gear case B,- and in the bar L, opposite to theouter ends of the jaw carrying slides H, and secure thereon adjacent tothe outer ends of said slides, cams It and R by means of set screws 1',and in the ends of said slides H, I pivot small rollers 1 which areengaged bysaid cams. On the lower ends of the vertical shafts R, aresecured worm-gear wheels S. One of the shafts R, extends downwardly to,and is journaled in the lower wall of the gear case B, and'has securedthereon a miter gear T,

for the purpose hereinafter set forth. Longitudinallythrough thegear-case B, there is mounted a drive shaft U, upon which therearesecured worms U, (see Fig. 4:) which intermesh with the worm gearwheels S. The shaft U, extends outwardly through the end walls of thegear case B, and on one end thereof I secure a gear pinion U and a bandwheel U upon which a driving belt U may be placed for driving themachine. Upon the opposite end of the shaft U, .I place a small pulleyV, for the purpose hereinafter set forth. For driving the hollow shaft0, I mount a shaft W, in the gear case B, one end thereof extendingoutwardly through one end of the gear case B, where a spur gear W, issecured thereon, which intermeshes with the gear pinion U, on the shaftU. -On the other end of the shaft IV, there is secured a miter gear Wwhich intermeshes with the miter gear C, on the ho1-- low shaft O. Forsupplying oil to the thread cutting tap K, I provide a pump mechanism X,which is operated by means of a belt X, from the pulley V. For givingvertical movement to the sleeve E, and nutholder F, I provide a lever Y,mounted upon a fulcrum 3 on the machine frame, one end of which isconnected to the sleeve E, by means of a link Y. The opposite end of thelever Y, is engaged by a cam B on one of the vertical shafts R, so thatas the cam R is rotated, the sleeve E, and nut-holding,

sleeve F, will be raised and lowered.

For operating the slide N", and feeding fingers N I provide a lever Z,which is pivoted to a post Z, secured on the bar L, and upon the upperend of one of the shafts R, I secure a cam Z which engages a roller 2,pivoted to the lever Z. The lever Z, is connected to the slide N, bymeans of a link at, so that as the cam Z is rotated by the shaft R, theslide N and feeding fingers N are given the proper intermittent verticalmovement.

For operating the vertical nut-raising slide 0 in the hopper O, I mounta short transverse shaft 2, in the rear wall of the gear case B, and ina suitable bracket 3, (see Figs. 2 and 4) secured to the rear side ofthe machine frame, and within the gear case B, there is secured on theshaft 2, a miter gear wheel 2, which inter-meshes with and is driven bythe miter gear T, on the shaft B. On the opposite end of the shaft 2,there is secured a crank disk 4, having secured thereon a wrist pin 4:.Pivoted on a bracket 5, on

the machine frame A, there is a lever 6, one end of which is connectedwith the wrist pins 4, by means of a link 7 and the other end of thelever 6 is connected with the slide 0, link 8. 4 a

For operating the driving pulley Q of the carrying belt Q, Lmount a.shaft 9, in suitable brackets 9, secured on the rear side of the gearcase B, upon one end of which of the machine.

shaft 9, the pulley Q3, is secured, and on the other end of said shaft9, a miter gear wheel 10, is secured, and upon the shaft 2, andintermeshing with the miter gear wheel 10, there is secured anothermiter gear wheel 11, so that as the shaft 2, is rotated, the shaft 9,rotates to, drive the nut-carrying belt 0. The oil conveying pipe 12,carries oil from the pump mecli'anism X, upward to the threading tap K.

In order to force the slides H, backward, when they are released by thecams R and R", I provide in the upright frame H, be-

hind each of said slides, a mortised. recess 17, (see Fig. 8) into whicha stud 18, secured in the slides H, extends, and between said studs andthe opposite ends of said recesses I place springs 19, whichoperat toforce the slides H, backward so that the rollers 1", will at all timesfollow the cams R, and R as they are rotated by the shafts R.

The operation of the mechanism hereinbefore described is as follows:-The hopper O, is supplied with nut-blanks to be threaded. Oil or otherlubricating liquid is supplied to the oil chamber A, in the base framePower is then applied to the shaft U, which is also communicated to theshaft W, by means of the gear wheels U and \V, and the hollow verticalshaft C, and shafts R, are, by means of the miter gears V and C, and theworm gears S and U, caused to rotate, which causes the in the hopper O,by means of a of the tap K,

cams R, to force the upper pair of jawcarrying slides H, to move inwardso that the jaws it, carried thereby .will grasp the shank of thethreading tap K, and simultaneously will cause the cam Z to raise thelever Z, slide N, and feeding fingers N upward so that a nut blanksupplied upon the endless belt Q, by the slide 0 frompthe hopper 0, canbe moved upon the trap door M when the continual rotation of the cam Z,permits the slide N, and feeding fingers N to again move downward topusha nut blank on the trap doors M downward therethrough and over theupper end of theshank oft-he threading tap K, where it rests for amoment upon the upper pairof jaws 72-, until the continual rotationofthe cams R and R moves the lower pair of slides H, and jaws h carriedthereby, forward to grasp the shank of the threading tap K, and permitsthe upper pair of jaws to move backward, when the nut-blank will dropdownward on the tapshank onto the lower pair ofjaws h. The cam R now bymeans of the lever Y, raises the sleeve E, and nut holder. F, to a pointadjacent to the lower pair of jaws h, which permits the hooks g, to openoutwardly, and the cams R permits, the lower pair of jaws h, to releasethe shank of the tap after the same has been grasped by the upper pairof jaws h, and the nut-blank falls into the upper end of the rotatingnut-holder F, which is then permitted to move downward into he hollow.shaft C, which causes the hooks g to engage the upper face of the blankand force it downward upon the thread-cutting portion of the tap K,while the blank is being rotated, until it falls off of the lower endandlthrough the hollow shaft C, onto the screen a, of the pan A andduring this operation oil from the chamber A, is being pumped throughthe pipe 12, by the pump X, to the tap K, and flows thereabout throughthe nut-holder'F, hollow shaft C, and screen a, back to the chamber A.During the operation above described,

the endless belt Q, is caused to travel toward the feeding fingers N andthe nut-raising slide is given vertical reciprocation by means of theshaft 2, and miter gears T and 2,

shown in Fig. 1, and the miter gears 10 and 11, and shaft 9, shown inFig. 4, and the crank and lever and link mechanism shown in Fig. 3, andas nut-blanks are raised upward by the slide they roll or slide from theinclined surface of the upper end thereof, onto the belt Q, and as theyare carried forward by the belt, the curved finger engages such blanksas are vertical edgewise upon the belt and turns them over upon theirsides, or if several blanks are superimposed upon each other, all butthe lowermost ones are pushed off thereby into the hopper, so that thereis a continuous tram of nut blanks being moved forward against thefeeding fingers l\-, when they are lowered, and onto the trap door Mwhen the feeding fingers are raised by the belt Q.

If for any reason the sleeve E, and nutholder F, do not move downwardafter a nut A blank has been dropped by the lower pair of jaws h, I haveprovided a latch bar 13, (see Fig. 6) which is secured upon the bar L,and extends upwardly therefrom, in front of the lever Z, on whichlatch-bar 13, is then secured a spring 14, which carries a stud 15,adapted to extend through an opening, shown in broken lines, and engagethe lever Z, on its downward movement and retain it in a raisedposition. If, however, the sleeve E, and nut-holder F, move downward, Ihave provided a rod 16, which is secured to the sleeve E, the upper endof which is adapted to enter between the latchbar 13, and spring 14, soas to withdraw the stud 15, out of the path of the lever 2, and permititto move downward, and the feeding fingers N to push another blankthrough the trap-doors M Having thus illustrated and described myinvention so as to enable others to utilize the same, what I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. In a machine of the character described, a hollow vertical shafthaving longitudinal slots through the wall of the upper portion thereof,a nut holding sleeve vertically movable within said hollow shaft, a ringon said hollow shaft, having a circumferential slot therein, pinssecured in said ring and extending inwardly through, the longitudinalslots in said hollow shaft and into the wall of' said nut-holdingsleeve, a ring in said circumferential slot, mechanism pivoted to saidlast mentioned ring. adapted to give verticalmovement to said rings andnut-holding sleeve, and mechanism adapted to rotate said hollow shaft,substantially as set forth.

2. In a machine ofthe character described, a-hollow vertical shaft, anut-holding sleeve vertically movable within said hollow shaft, means tocause said sleeve to rotate in unison with said hollow shaft, mechanismadapted to engage said nut-holding sleeve and impart vertical movementthereto, mechanism to rotate said hollow shaft, clamping jaws above saidhollow shaft adaped to clamp the shank of a threadingtap' at spacedpoints thereon and support said tap in a position concentric with saidnut-holding sleeve, mechanism adapted to feed nut-blanks onto thesupperend of the shank of said thread'cutting tap at proper intervals,mechanism adapted to open and close said clamping jaws alternatelyinopposing pairs upon said tap shank so as to permit the dropping of anut blank at each movement of said jaws, and mechanism adapted to raisesaid nut-holding sleeve to receive a nut-blank as the lower pair of jawsare opened, substantially as set forth.

3. In a machine of the character described, a hollow vertical shaft, anut holding sleeve vertically movable within said shaft, spring actuatedhooks adapted to engage the upper surface of a nut blank entering theupper end of said sleeve secured thereto, shoulders on said hooksadapted to be engaged by the inner surface of said hollow shaft whensaid sleeve is lowered thereinto. to press said hooks inward over a nutblank, means to cause said sleeve to rotate in unison with said hollowshaft, mechanism adapted to engage and lift said sleeve upwardly toreceive a nut blank, and permit it to recede downwardly into said hollowshaft so as to cause said hooks to engage the upper surface of a blank,mechanism adapted to support a threading tap concentric with saidnutholding sleeve while permitting a nut blank to pass downwarolyover theshank thereof, and mechanism adapted. to place a nut-blank on the upperend of said tap shank at proper intervals, set forth.

4. In a machine of the character described, a hollow vertical shaft,mechanism to rotate said shaft, a sleeve slidably mounted within androtatable with said shaft, having an opening therethrough adapted toreceive and permit the passage of a nut therethrough, mechanismengagingsaid sleeve by means whereof the same may be raised and lowered,longitudinally slidable jaws mounted in opposing pairs in guides abovesaid hollow shaft, said pairs of jaws being in spaced relation to .eachother, a threading tap alternately engaged and supported by a pair ofsaid jaws concentric with said hollow shaft, a nut receiving platehaving an opening therethrough concentric with said tap, weight actuatedtrap doors pivoted to said plate and parti' lly closing said opening,vertically moving ceding fingers adapted to pass through said openingand between said trap doors to push a nut blank downwardly onto theshank of said tap, blank' supplying mechanism adapted to move blanksforward onto said trap doors, mechanism to raise said feeding fingers atpredetermined intervals and permit them to lower, mechanism adapted toclose the lower pair of jaws upon the shank of the threading tap, andopen the npperpair of jaws, and mechanism to cause the nut receivingsleeve to rise upwardly to receive a blank when the. lower pair of jawsopen, substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine of the character described, a hollow vertical shaft,mechanism to rotate said shaft, a sleeve slidably mounted within androtatable with said shaft, having an opening therethrough adapted toreceive and substantially as permit the passage of a nut therethrough,mechanism engaging said sleeve by means whereof the same may be raisedand lowered, longitudinally slidable jaws mounted in opposing pairs inguides above said hollow shaft, said pairs of jaws being in spacedrelation to each other, a threading tap. alternately engaged andsupported by a pair of said jaws concentric with said hollow shaft, anut receiving plate having an opening therethrough concentric with saidtap, weight actuated trap doors pivoted to said plate and partiallyclosing said opening, vertically moving feeding fingers adapted to passthrough said openin and between said trap doors to push a nutblankdownwardly onto the shank of said tap, a continuous belt adapted tocarry and move nut-blanks onto said trap-doors a hopper, mechanismadapted to place nutlanks from said hopper onto said belt, guidemechanism adapted to arrange nut-blanks in a flat-wise longitudinal rowon said belt, mechanism to cause said belt to carry said row ofnutblanks toward said trap-doors, mechanism to raise said feedingfingers at pre-determined intervals and permit them to lower, mechanismadapted to close the lower pair of jaws upon the shank of the threadingtap, and open the upper pair of jaws, and mechanism to cause the nutreceivingsleeve to rise upwardly to receive a blank when the lower pairof jaws open, substantially as set forth.

6'. In a machine of the character described, a base frame having achamber therein, a screened pan in the upper portion of said chamber, agear case above s ai chamber, a shaft mounted longitudinally in saidchamber, worms secured on said shaft, means to supply power to rotatesaid shaft, another shaft longitudinally mounted in said chamber, amiter gear on said shaft, and spur gears on said shafts intermeshingwith each other, a hollow vertical shaft mounted in said gear case andextending upwardly through the upper wall thereof, a miter gear securedon said hollow shaft and intermeshing with the first named gear, a nutholding sleeve slidably mounted in and non-rotatable with relation tosaid hollow shaft, spring actuated hooks secured to said sleeve,shoulders on the shanks of said hooks adapted to be engaged by saidhollow shaft to press said hooks inward, mechanism en gaging said sleeveand adapted to raise said sleeve upwardly within said hollow shaft, anupright frame mounted upon said gear case having horizontal slide-waysin the face thereof, and slotted recesses in the rear walls of saidslide-ways, springs in said recesses, slides in said slide-ways, studson the rear faces of said slides extending backwardly into said recessesand engaged by said springs, jaws adjustably secured in said slides andadapted to grip and support a thread-cutting tap concentric with saidhol low shaft, a threading tap supported thereby, vertical shaftsjournaled in said gearcase and said upright frame adjacent to the outerends of said slides, cams on said vertical shafts adapted to engage saidslides during the" rotation of said shafts and simultaneously operatethe upper pair rtoward each other, and when said upper pair of jaws toraise and lower said nut-holding sleeve, a

cam on one of said vertical shafts adapted to actuate said lever toraise said sleeve when the lower pair of said slides start on theirbackward movement, a

blank receiving plate having an opening I therethrough concentric withsaid hollow shaft adapted to receive blanks from said belt, weightactuated trap doors pivoted to said plate, a hopper, and mechanismadaptedto feed nut-blanks from said hopper onto said trap-doors,vertical guides secured on said upright frame, a slide mounted thereon,feeding fingers secured thereon adapted to be moved downwardly throughthe opemng in said nut receiving plate and push a blank downwardlythrough said trap doors onto the upper end of the shank of saidthreading tap, lever and link mechanism to operate said slide andfingers, a cam on one of sa1 vertical shafts to actuate said levermechanism, and shaft and gear mechanism adapted to actuate said conveyorbelt, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' GEORGE ALEXANDER.

Witnesses:

H. M. STURGEON, P, V. GIFFORD.

